Saturday, a new Heisman will be crowned between the final four candidates of LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Oregon’s Bo Nix, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. While the official Heisman will not be announced until late in the evening this column will basically answer who should win the trophy.
Three of these players have very strong cases. The trio of QBs to be finalists all have something going their way. Nix had several strong performances and always had a good performance. Every single one was either good or great, never too bad. However, two losses to the same team really hurt. Due to that, he is NOT the Heisman.
Penix went undefeated this season — the only player of the four to lead his team to the College Football Playoff. However, he had some duds for performances and UW’s offense looked weak at points, hurting his stats along the process. Due to that, he is NOT the Heisman.
It is only fair to mention Harrison Jr. However, his case is relatively weak. There are several other wide receivers that put up similar numbers to the projected top-three pick in the NFL Draft. He also did not lead his team to the CFP and plays a perceived less valuable position. For those reasons, he is NOT the Heisman.
Three no’s for the Heisman, leaving just one player.
Jayden Daniels is the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner.
Yes, LSU did lose three games and that certainly does not help his case. But his numbers are just that good. It is like Lamar Jackson in 2016, a dual-threat QB with stats better than everyone else, despite not having the best record.
Daniels has by far the best ESPN Quarterback Rating at 95.7, he has by far the most total yards, has the most total TDs and is the most well-rounded candidate of the four.
Completing 72.2% of his passes, he threw for 3,812 yards, 40 TDs (more than Penix), four interceptions (less than Penix) and averaged 11.7 yards per completion (more than Penix and Nix). While his passing stats are impressive in their own right, his legs make this a no-contest.
On the ground, he added 1,134 yards and 10 TDs, both significantly better marks than either Nix or Penix.
Every season, a player needs the coveted “Heisman Moment” to solidify their case. A moment, or game, where the player proves to be the best player in the nation for the season. Daniels had his moment against Florida in a 52-35 win. While it was a good win, Daniels put up video-game-like numbers.
Through the air, he went 17-of-26, 372 yards and three TDs. That was not it, though. On the ground, he had 234 yards and two more TDs, averaging 19.5 yards per carry. With 606 total yards and five TDs, he proved that even against an SEC defense, he could dominate.
His worst passing performance against an SEC team came against Alabama, a team that made the CFP, but even then, it was not that bad. He only threw for 219 yards, two TDs, and one interception. However, he added 163 yards and a TD on the ground.
Even in his “worst” performance, the loss was not on his back.
For all of these reasons, Daniels is the 2023 Heisman.
